Should Marvel Hire Isaiah Mustafa to Play Luke Cage?
Isaiah Mustafa is many things -- mostly the Man Your Man Could Smell Like -- but does he have what it takes to play a superhero? That's what the Old Spice pitchman (and Tyler Perry co-star) is hoping based on his homemade trailer for Luke Cage which debuted online late last week. Should Marvel take up Mustafa's suggestion and push Cage into development? Let's take a look at the video and discuss.
On the one hand -- by virtue of being the Old Spice Guy -- Mustafa doesn't have the gravitas that someone like Idris Elba might have in the lead role. (Elba said he was interested in playing Cage last October.) On the other hand, does Luke Cage really need gravitas? He's a comic book character, after all! Maybe Mustafa's playful mugging amid the torture and anger is just what Cage would need -- don't forget, that worked for Iron Man and Thor.
What say you, comic fans? Do you support Isaiah Mustafa for Luke Cage?
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Sweet Christmas!
Also, if that was a trailer for Luke Cage as a product, it would be fine, serviceable. But as a showcase for Mustafa as the character of Luke Cage? Weak. Forget the muscles and flashy lights, demonstrating being able to deliver dialogue as Luke Cage is what he needed to do here.
That's just what I was thinking. If he is going to look the same as his Old Spice persona he needs to showcase his acting ability not let some fancy directing and cinematography do all of the work.
That said, who is really clamouring for a Luke Cage film? I know people rolled their eyes at Thor and that turned out ok but are we on 3rd string or 4th string characters by now?
I guess with the Ant Man movie moving forward anything goes.
Heck no...his acting skills are too sub-par to carry a film
B for effort - well A really, given Mustafa probably hired the hacks who 'shot' that piece of cheesy rubbish instead of directing it himself. er..i think. anyway. note to dp/diector or others looking to do same in future: 5D's look good for this kind of low-budget promo piece, which isn't a bad idea if you have no reel to speak of. but i beg you -- use them instead of whatever cheap vid gear and lamo dp were used for this. thoroughly vet your team - make sure they are more talented than you are, and let them loose. there are tons of talents out there. another though: flashy cuts mixed with ham-fisted cliché lines and set-pieces a tantalising movie pitch doth not make...if you say it once, say it a thousand times: three things to focus on first: story, story, and story. Then, hire the best team with the hottest reels you can find. people want to work. talented people. and there are enough out there that you can skip the hacks here